5 issues to learn about new Celtics draft decide Jordan Walsh

Walsh, 19, was a five-star recruit out of Dallas earlier than trudging by means of an up-and-down freshman season with the Razorbacks.

Despite the fact that Walsh is a uncooked prospect, his strengths on the courtroom might see him grow to be an efficient position participant on the subsequent stage.

Listed below are 5 issues to learn about Boston’s newest draft decide:

Walsh ought to present vitality and stout defensive play within the NBA ranks.

Walsh may want to shine his total sport earlier than he takes the subsequent step as an everyday contributor in Boston’s rotation.

However his vitality and defensive depth stood out all through his freshman season at Arkansas. With a 7-foot-3 wingspan and a 6-foot-7 body, Walsh is a flexible defender who flies everywhere in the courtroom, slows down gamers on the perimeter, and isn’t afraid to scrap within the paint.

Throughout ESPN’s broadcast on Thursday, faculty basketball analyst Jay Bilas noted that Walsh only allowed 34% percent shooting as a main defender in faculty. 

As long as the remainder of his sport rounds out, Walsh ought to set up himself as a tireless defender and spark plug off the bench who makes successful performs for his workforce due to a excessive motor, second-effort sequences and scrappy play.

Remind you of anybody? 

Walsh must work on his offensive sport. 

Walsh’s defensive capabilities will make him a menace within the professional ranks. However he’ll solely carve out reliable minutes for himself if he turns into a more practical menace on offense.

He did loads of injury in transition in faculty, however these straightforward lobs and layups shall be a lot tougher to return by in Maine and Boston.

Walsh has a sound capturing type, however that didn’t result in tangible outcomes at Arkansas. He averaged simply 7.1 factors per sport in his lone collegiate marketing campaign, sinking simply 27.8 % of his 3-point makes an attempt.

Walsh’s sound mechanics provide hope that he can develop right into a reliable 3-and-D menace for the Celtics within the coming years.

The Ringer’s draft profile on Walsh even tabbed him as having shades of a “supercharged Jae Crowder”. 

However a clean capturing type doesn’t imply all that a lot for those who don’t persistently sink your photographs from deep.

Walsh struggled to search out his position at Arkansas,

A extremely touted prospect popping out of Hyperlink Academy in Branson, Missouri, Walsh spent the vast majority of his freshman marketing campaign attempting to settle into an outlined spot on a proficient Razorbacks squad.

On an Arkansas workforce that additionally featured first-round picks in Anthony Black (No. 6 total – Orlando) and Nick Smith Jr. (No. 27 total – Charlotte), Walsh logged the sixth-most minutes on the workforce, beginning 22 of his workforce’s 35 video games.

With gamers like Black and Ricky Council IV shouldering many of the scoring burden for Arkansas, Walsh needed to reshuffle his sport within the faculty ranks — a far cry from the position he took on as a five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American in 2022.

Nonetheless, Walsh performed a key position in his workforce’s run to the Candy 16 within the 2023 NCAA event, together with an upset win over No. 1 Kansas.

With Arkansas present process loads of turnover this 12 months, Walsh seemingly might have put himself within the dialog as a first-round goal in 2024 if he returned to the Razorbacks in a featured spot as a sophomore.

As a substitute, Walsh will construct his sport inside the Celtics’ group, be it with Boston or up within the G League with the Maine Celtics.

Walsh’s vitality on the courtroom did result in unhealthy habits.

Walsh’s nonstop motor usually paid dividends for the Razorbacks, with the wing routinely successful 50-50 balls with diving performs and scraps for offensive rebounds.

However that high-octane vitality additionally acquired him in foul bother with Arkansas. Of his 35 video games final season, he fouled out of eight of them.

Harnessing that defensive depth with out racking up reach-in fouls and different infractions shall be one of many many studying curves that Walsh might want to regulate to transferring ahead in his younger profession.

Walsh has raised consciousness about alopecia. 

From an early age, Walsh has handled alopecia — a situation wherein a person’s immune system assaults hair follicles and causes hair loss. It causes patches of hair to fall out and never develop again.

Walsh is certainly one of many professional athletes who’ve handled alopecia, together with former NBA ahead Charlie Villanueva and Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier.

However Walsh has not let the situation outline him, and has served as a useful resource for others who’re coping with it.

Again in October, Walsh and Arkansas girls’s basketball guard Rylee Langerman (who additionally has alopecia) helped rejoice the discharge of “Beanies, Ball Caps, and Being Bald,” a guide that particulars the story of a boy from Arkansas coping with alopecia.